Rei Saotome: Student of Duel Academy?
by The Digger
Summary: AU to season 1. Rei Saotome was a new student to the Academy, a girl who posed as a boy. She came to this school to be with Kaiser, who she had a strong crush on... oh, and she's only in 5th grade! Upon this discovery, Rei was sent back home where she belonged... or did she? No, she didn't. She stayed at the academy, where hilarity ensued! -Looking for a Co-writer!


**Update 10/5/13: I've decided that I'm going to take a shot at making a second chapter for this series. However, before I can do that, I need to settle a debate; should Rei/Blair continue to pose as a boy in the coming chapters? Or should she tell the truth to the whole Academy, letting it be known that she's really a girl? There's a poll for this on my profile. **

**Go! Go there! Go vote there now!**

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"Go! _**Flame Shoot!**_" And with an eruption of fire from the dragon hand for its arm, Flame Wingman incinerated Maiden in Love, in turn defeating Rei Saotome.

Rei: 1400–0  
**_  
Winner: Judai Yuki_**

"Gotcha!" He called, striking his signature victory pose. "That was certainly an interesting duel, Rei!"

"Judai, I..." Rei started, sitting up.

"Whoa, stop what you're saying." Judai stopped her. "Why don't you tell him?" Rei turned to see Ryo Marufuji, aka 'Kaiser,' her crush and her reason for infiltrating Duel Academy under the guise of a boy.

"Well, you're up." Asuka verbally nudged the Kaiser. "This is a man's responsibility, isn't it?" Ryo simply nodded.

"R-Ryou-sama!" Rei spoke, getting right up to her feet, her face pink. Asuka gave a slight giggle to Kaiser's embarrassed expression to the formal way the girl addressed him.

"I'm sorry." Rei confessed. "I'm the one who snuck into your room this afternoon. And Judai was just trying to stop me from doing it..."

"I know." Ryou nodded, understanding the earlier situation.

"Ever since you when onto Duel Academia, Ryou-sama," Rei continued, her face reddening more and more as she spoke. "I've wanted to see you again, to be with you... And finally, I came all this way..."

Hayato and Shou beamed, touched by her story.

"I may have lost to Judai in that duel," Rei continued. "But I won't lose my feelings for you to anyone, Ryou-sama! Please, accept the true love of a young maiden!" And as she spread her arms wide offering her love, Judai and the others could see the spirit of her favorite card, the Maiden in Love, and what it represented to her. Even Ryou expressed some surprise at this plea.

"Even the Kaiser is overwhelmed?" Judai laughed. "That's some amazing power. Just like in the duel!"

"That wasn't from the duel..." Rei pouted.

"I see now." Asuka spoke up. "Your wholehearted feelings are lovely, but it's like you said; unlike those heroes in the duel, a real woman wouldn't win over men just using things like winks or kisses. You can't use tricks, or spells, or disguises to find your soulmate, Rei. You have to be upfront and honest about your feelings."

"Hey! And just what are you to Ryou-sama!?" Rei snapped at her. "You're not going to be my love rival, are you?!" She frowned at Asuka, who chuckled, replying,

"No, that's not it..."

"Rei, I'm flattered by how you feel..." Kaiser stated sincerely. "But right now, I'm devoted to dueling."

"But, Ryou-sama..." Rei said weakly.

"Rei," Kaiser spoke softly, placing the hair clip she had dropped earlier into her hand with care. "Please, return to your hometown." Rei looked down at her clip, saddened and disappointed by her crush's words.

"Hey! You don't have to go that far!" Judai butted in. "Even if she lied about being a boy, she can still stay in the Obelisk Blue girl's dorm..."

"Rei can't say here, Judai." Ryou shook his head.

"Why not?" Judai blinked. "Does Rei have something else that she's hiding? She dressed up as a boy, and showed us she was a girl, so... is her being a boy the truth then?"

"Rei is a Fifth Grader; she's still in elementary school." Ryou stated plainly.

"WHA...?!" Judai blurted, going pale as Rei laughed awkwardly of this revelation.

"What is this?!" Judai flustered. "I've been dueling an elementary school student this whole time?!"

"Yup!" Rei grinned teasingly before mirroring Judai's victory pose. "Gotcha! That was a fun duel though, wasn't it?"

"This is great!" Judai laughed madly. "This is why duels are so fun!"

* * *

"I'm going to miss it here..." Rei sighed, disappointed as she gathered her belongings later that night. Kaiser had insisted that she turn herself in first thing tomorrow; to tell her story to Chancellor Samejima, and get on the boat back home. However, Judai felt more than a little bit guilty of doing something like this to her; after all, she was a fantastic duelist, even if a little misguided, and for as short as their friendship was, it felt like a shame to say good-bye so soon.

"Hey, guys?" he whispered to Hayato and Shou. "Can I talk to you guys outside for a bit?"

It wasn't just Hayato and Shou that he wanted to speak to, however; he had gathered his whole band of friends, even Misawa, who hadn't been made aware of the events of the past day, much less had he met Rei yet, in the Osiris cafeteria to deliberate Rei's situation.

* * *

"I already told you, she's too young to be here." Kaiser repeated.

"I agree." Asuka admitted.

"I know, but... why should that matter?" Judai insisted. "Asuka, didn't you once say that things like age and gender don't mean anything as a duelist?"

"I suppose. Something like that, anyway..." Asuka shrugged.

"I think she should be given a chance at the academy." Judai insisted. "She can tell the chancellor that she lied about being a boy, but it just feels... wrong to push her out of the academy."

"Yeah." Shou sighed. "It does feel like something underhanded..."

"Underhanded or not, it's something that she has to do." Kaiser reasoned. "I understand fully what you're telling me, Judai. But Rei needs some growing up to do before she's ready to be in the Academy."

"She seems grown enough." Judai commented, still finding it hard to believe that she, a girl at least 10 years old was able to pose as someone 4-5 years older.

"I mean mentally, Judai." Kaiser corrected him. "And that kind of maturing is not something that she can learn here."

"I don't agree." Shou spoke up. "I think she COULD mature, in every sense, here if you gave her the chance." Judai grinned at him, knowing that Shou was speaking from experience.

"And she's gotten so used to things here that it would not only be unfair, but awkward to everyone around her, if she were to suddenly leave now." Hayato added.

"Does she really want to remain here this badly?" Ryou sighed, to which Judai nodded. "Then... all of you put it to a vote." He handed everyone a slip of paper and a marker. "If even just one person says no to her staying, then she's going home first thing tomorrow. Is that clear?"

"Thanks, Kaiser." Judai nodded.

Silence passed over the group as they cast their votes, each and every one of them carefully considering their choice. Finally, they passed Kaiser their papers, and waited in suspense as he sifted through the votes. He sighed, before stating,

"She's staying." Everyone expressed relief and delight at this news. Rei Saotome was now officially a student of Duel Academia!

"And what about her living arrangement?" asked Asuka. "Will she stay in Osiris Red? Or should she be moved to the Blue dorm with me?"

"I think that she should tell the Chancellor the truth about at least this matter." Kaiser answered. "But if she's to stay here, if she's to do any growing up, then that's her decision to make, I think."

**To Be Continued...?**

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**So... yeah. I wanted to put this up on Adoptafic, throw this out in the open for anyone to write for themselves... but as I found myself writing this, I also felt a level of... attachment to it. Not so much so that I'm fully willing to write this story alongside my other works (I got enough backlog as it stands), but enough that I'm willing to help someone else write it, or vice-versa. So it's up for... partial adoption, if you will! Anyway, yes, this story is going to be put up for adoption, but to whoever claims this story, I wish to co-write it alongside you, or I wish you to co-write it alongside me... one or the other! **

**Some guidelines I have, though:**

**-If you're looking to co-write this story, please contact me via PM, NOT the review section! That's for reviews =P**

**-If you're unfamiliar and/or unused to the use of the Japanese names, and prefer to use the dub names in their stead, that is perfectly fine, as long as you make such desire clear.** **I only used them because of my own personal preference.**

**-I came up with this idea with the intention of having it be light-hearted, humorous, and targeted towards NO specific pairing; in other words, kind of a 'harem' fic about Rei/Blair, if you will. I would like you to keep this idea in mind if you plan to adopt this story. **

**-Coinciding with the previous guideline, I would like for there to not be any OC pairings; while I have nothing against OCs, I feel that they would not add much of anything to the story, so I prefer if the series' cast and pairings comprise of canon characters only.**

**-It doesn't have to follow the story of the events of Season 1. In fact, I do encourage creative freedom with how life with Rei plays out, so I'm all for cutting out the Shadow Rider arc entirely to play around more, as opposed to just telling the same story everyone knows, just with Rei present.**

**-Mature humor and content is welcomed and encouraged. **

**-Lastly, if you have a better idea for a name for this story, feel free to shout it out. I must confess, I threw this story's title together on something of a whim, and it will likely not stay  
**


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